Garment-confining attachment for trunks.



M. A. McKIM. GARMENT GONPINING ATTACHMENT FOR TRUNKS. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 17, 1912.

Patented Oct. 22, 1912.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co WASHINGTON, u. c,

MARIE ANTOINETTE McKIlVI, F CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

GARMENT-CONFINING ATTACHMENT FOR TRUNKS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 22, 1912.

Application filed June 17, 1912. Serial No. 704,028.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, h Linrn ANTOINETTE MCKIM, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Garment-Confining Attachments for Trunks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide improved means for confining garments and other like articles in trunks, in such manner that displacement of the garments due to changes of position of the trunk and to other causes may be prevented and the garments may be held smoothly in predetermined positions in the trunk.

The invention is embodied in an attachment adapted to be quickly and conveniently applied to the interior of a trunk and including cross bars adapted to be adjustably secured to the trunk at opposite ends of the latter, and means connected with said cross bars for engaging end portions of a garment, the arrangement being such that each garment packed in the trunk may have its end portions firmly secured and confined at end portions of the trunk, its intermediate portion being held in a smooth condition between the confined end portions, and displacement of the garment in any direction being prevented, so that when the trunk is placed on end or on one side there will be no displacement of the contents of the trunk by gravitation toward the lower end or side, all as hereinafter described and claimed.

Of the accompanying drawings :Figure 1 represents a top plan view of the body of a trunk provided with an attachment embodying my invention, the cover being removed. Fig. 2 represents a section on line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a longitudinal section showing the preferred form of one of the telescopic cross bars. Fig. l represents an enlargement of a portion of Fig. 8 showing a modification. Fig. represents a section on line 55 of Fig. 1.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In the drawings :-12 represents the body of an ordinary packing trunk which may be provided with the usual hinged cover 13 and removable tray 14, the construction of the trunk forming no part of my invention.

The essential features of the invention are as follows: First, two independent cross bars 15 and 16 adapted to extend across the iiiterror of the trunk from one side to the opposlte side, each bar being provided with means for engaging the end portion of a garment 17 in such manner as to confine said end portion and the intermediate portion of the garment against displacement in any direction, the intermediate portion being held in a fiat condition between the cross bars.

oecondly, means for adjustably and detachably securing said cross bars to the trunk so that they may be located at any desired distance from the bottom of the trunk, the said securing means providing for the employment of any desired number of pairs of cross bars 15 and 16.

In the embodiment of my invention here shown, the opposite vertical sides of the trunk are provided with latch members 18 which are preferably wire rods of sinuous form, as shown by F ig. 2, attached at their end portions, and, if preferable, at one or more intermediate portions to the trunk by means of screws or other fastenings 19, the

'latch members being spaced from the trunk sides to which they are attached, by washers 20, as shown by Figs. 1 and 5. The rentrantcurves at one side of each latch member constitute a plurality of latch sockets adapted to engage the end portions of the cross bars 15 and 16, these end portions constituting latch bolts adapted to engage said sockets.

Each of the cross bars 15 and 16 is preferably adjustable in length so that it may be adapted to trunks of different widths, each cross bar being preferably of telescopic form and composed of a central tubular section a, and two end sections Z) slidable in guides c at the ends of the section a, and having heads 5 by which their outward movement is limited. The tubular section a contains a spring 61 confined at its central portion by a pin 6 so that the end portions of the spring constitute in effect two independent springs pressing outwardly on the end sections 6 and 'yieldingly projecting the same from the tubular section a. V

The described cross bar is adapted to be inserted in a trunk. the width of which is considerably less than the normal length of the cross bar, the end sections being pressed back into the tubular section and being yieldingly held thereby against the sides of the trunk, said end sections constituting latch bolts which engage sockets in the latch members 18.

The means here shown for engaging end portions of the garment 17 are as follows: To the cross bar 15 is connected a pair of wire clamping jaws 21 having necks 2'3 and a hook 2-3 adapted to engage the central portion of the cross bar 15, a ring 24: being movable on the necks 22 to press the jaws together or release their pressure. I

One end of the garment 17, which is 1n this case a dress skirt, is interposed between the jaws 21, which are caused to grasp the garment by moving the slide 24 toward the aws.

1 One of the end sections 5 of the cross bar 16 is provided with an car 25 to which is joined one end of a yoke, preferably of telescopic construction and composed of a rod section 26 and a tubular section 27 slidable thereon to vary the length of the yoke. One end of the tubular section 27 is provided with a hook 28 adapted to engage one of the end sections of the cross bar 16. The yoke is held by the ear 25 and hook 28 spaced from the cross bar 16 sufiiciently to permit the interposition of a portion of the garment 17 between said cross bar and yoke, an end portion of the garment being folded over the yoke, as indicated by Figs. 1 and 2.

It will now be seen that by employing a suitable number of pairs of cross bars 15 and 16 and their described adjuncts, I am able to securely confine the contents of the trunk against displacement in any direction. Each pair of cross bars and the garment held thereby constitutes in effect a partition. These partitions may be located at any desired distance or distances apart so that they may be utilized to confine other garments or articles not directly connected with holding devices on the cross bars, as indicated by Fig. 2, where 17 indicates garments held in place by garments 17 which are secured by the cross bars 15 and 16 and their adjuncts.

A vacant space is shown by Fig. 2, but in practice this space will be filled, if desired, with various small articles, these being interposed between partitions formed by garments 17 and cross bars 15 and 16 and their adjuncts engaged with said garments.

The latch members 18 which are adapted to be readily screwed to the interior of a trunk, together with a suitable number of pairs of cross bars 15 and 16 and their adjuncts, constitute a trunk attachment which may be placed on the market as such and applied by the buyer to a trunk, or may be applied to the trunk by a manufacturer and sold with it.

It is obvious that the garment-engaging adjuncts with which the cross bars 15 and 16 are supplied, may be variously modified in construction. For example, when a coat is to be secured, the adjunct employed with the cross bar 15 may be an ordinary coat hanger adapted to bear on the interior of the shoulders of the coat. The means for securing the cross bars detachably to the trunk may also be variously modified, and if desired, each cross bar may have means for self engagement, the latch members 18 being dispensed with.

Fig. 4: shows a cross bar having at the ends of its end sections Z) outwardly projecting spurs 6 adapted to penetrate the sides of the trunk and sustain the cross bar in place. The cross bars being independent of each other may be secured by the described means to the end portions of a trunk of any length, so that the attachment does not have to be constructed with reference to the length of the trunk.

As before indicated, each pair of crossbars, its garment-engaging adjuncts, and an elongated garment engaged therewith, constitutes a horizontal partition which is adjustable to the length of the trunk. Each partition may be confined at any distance from the bottom of the trunk, and is confined against either upward or downward displacement, so that one or more partitions thus formed may be located above a space not occupied by other partitions, as shown by Fig. 2, this space being filled with relatively small articles which are confined in place by the partition or partitions above the said space. The trunk may be, therefore, only partially filled without liability of displacement of its contents.

I claim 1. A garment-confining attachment for trunks, comprising a pair of cross bars each adapted to extend across the interior of a trunk and having garment-engaging means, the bars being independent of each other, and means for detachably and independently securing the bars to end portions of the trunk at differentdistances from the bottom thereof, the bars being adjustable in length to adapt them to trunks of different widths.

2. A garment-confining attachment for trunks, comprising a pair of cross bars each adapted to extend across the interior of a trunk, the bars being independent of each other, and means for detachably and inclependently securing the bars to end portions of the trunk at different distances from the bottom thereof, one of said bars having a clamp adapted to grasp one of the end portions of a garment, while the other bar has a yoke over which the opposite end portion of the garment may be folded, said yoke being hinged at one end to the last mentioned bar and having means at its opposite end for detachable engagement therewith, the said cross bars and yoke being adjustable in length to adapt them to trunks of difierent widths.

3. A garment-confining attachment for trunks, comprising two pairs of elongated latch members adapted to be aifixed in pairs to portions of a trunk, and each having a plurality of latch sockets, cross bars, the ends of Which constitute latch bolts adapted to engage sockets in a pair of latch members, and means supported by said bars for engaging end portions of garments and con fining said end portions and the intermediate portions against displacement, the cross bars being adjustable in length to adapt them to trunks of dilferent Widths.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature, in presence of two Witnesses.

MARIE ANTOINETTE MCKIM.

Witnesses:

C. F. BROWN, DAISY L. CLARK.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. O. 

